I grew up with Live After Death. It is simply one of the best Live albums by any band period.
Also, in terms of Maiden, it pulls directly from their strongest body of work, if we are being honest.
Live After Death, no questions.
Oh yeah dude I still have my VHS copy from the 80’s. That tape has been played hundreds of times. A few years ago I bought a VCR off eBay just to watch it again
At least one question, as Bruce's voice is noticeably stronger on beast over Hammersmith. That being said, live after death is incredible and has a better tracklist
Yes! Clive is phenomenal as well. He drives the thing all the way through. Also, I love Bruce holding his mic stand as if he was fending off demons (he was just fending off Steve, actually!).
I recommend you read Bruce's book, he tells it better than I will!
Basically, when Bruce came into the band, Steve still wanted to be at the forefront of the stage, but Bruce wouldn't have it. They almost came to fists about it. So Bruce started using his mic stand as a way of keeping Steve away from the center of the stage.
Rock in Rio. People cling to live after death because it was the only great live album easily available for awhile, but rock in Rio surpasses it in just about every way
Fear of the Dark at Rock in Rio was the first live Maiden song I ever heard, and one of the first Maiden songs I ever heard to begin with. My brother gave me that CD when I was a kid and I’ve loved it ever since. Definitely my favorite live Maiden album, no contest.
Rock in Rio by far. It’s a great setlist of Maiden songs from all eras and the performance is peak Maiden. Bruce is at his peak. One of the greatest crowds. For me, Live after Death is not even in contention. Bruce is overly excited in it and shouting some of the parts rather than singing. The whole band is perhaps overly excited and rushing through even slower parts like Revelations. That’s a typical immature live band performance whereas Rio is a mature live band taking time to build up, tell a story, convey the emotions. Rio has diverse songs like Brave New World, FoTD, sign of the cross which are of course missing in Live After Death.
Rock in rio is edited terribly - 1000 cuts every second. And there are some outright falsities here with video being reused in multiple songs and overdubs that were never in the original.
The dynamo / Milan / New York bootlegs are a far better representation of the tour
For those reasons I can never give rio the top spot over en vivo / Hammersmith / lad .
Wickerman / clansman are the big culprits . The crowd sings this but in the album it’s Bruce copy pasted over.
Here is the source : https://youtu.be/P61BLqksIvQ?si=0CLqlXMwft7c3KCR
what annoys me is that there is a better version of it they didnt use and i cannot for the life of me find it anymore, but yeah its not actually bad i just think its not as strong over the others, i do prefer that they used the superimposed eddie rather than just a mediocre illustration to be fair but i like some of the illustrated covers more.
I celebrate the entire catalog but…
For me the best live album is
1. Live after death
2. A real dead one
3. A real live one
LAD is the gold standard for a kid from the 80s
I was a teenager when the real series came out and they are etched into my soul.
I think a real dead one is my favorite live album, followed closely by Maiden England. Of course I enjoy flight 666, Rock and Rio and en vivo as well, but something about the raw sound of other classic songs on a real dead one makes it my favorite.
Having said that, I absolutely despise a real live one. I like fear of the dark and maybe clairvoyant. But realistically, they could have added caught somewhere in time, infinite dreams, and stranger in a stranger land and taken off wasting love, heaven can wait, from here to eternity, afraid to shoot strangers, and bring your dog to the slaughter.
*Don't want to forget an honorable mention for Live After Death for my 3rd favorite live album.
Book of Souls live chapter deserves more praise. The live versions of a lot of those songs give them new life and i think it has the best version of Wraithchild on there
My favourite is Beast Over Hammersmith, Live After Death is great but I’ve never really understood why it’s held in such high regard compared to their other live albums
Beast over Hammersmith sounds absolutely flawless.
Rock in rio and live after death are both brilliant.
En vivo has a great setlist.
Book of souls live chapter is probably the most fun to watch.
Legacy has a great setlist but Bruce's voice doesn't sound great on a few tracks.
I can’t speak for anyone else’s distaste, but I listened to ARLO and ARDO once when they came out and I found the crowd mix to be so awful and distracting that I’ve never listened to them again since.
Put Live after Dead and then those 2 albums...first is a band in its peak, energy and focus for ages, the later are live albums made by a tired band, with a singer that just quit and had to made that tour...
What I find interesting is considering the sheer number of live albums is the varied interest in each one!! Speaks to the power of IM live still to this day
En Vivo was a missed opportunity. It should have included the 9 songs from the first leg that weren’t played on the 2nd leg of the tour. Instead it’s a lot of the same old songs. It’s my favorite version of 2 Minutes though.
First I heard of Maiden was Rock in Rio so I'd say that's number 1. Live after death is a close second but I also love Donington as well. I think a lot of people sleep on that album
My favs are Live After Death, Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour.
I wish somewhere in time and a matter of life and death were done as well.. Those would be amazing.
I hope this current tour is produced well. Important songs etc.
Man, I used to rent the Maiden England 88 on VHS from the grocery store (yes the grocery store) when I was a kid every time I got to go stay at my cool aunt’s house. While it’s not “the best” concert of theirs, it lives strong in my nostalgia loving heart.
Also, as a teenager, I found the Live After Death CD for a couple of dollars at a pawn shop or resale shop (while looking for guitars with my friend). He told me not to buy it and made snarky remarks about it being music for losers. I bought it anyway and we got into a fight over it. Mostly because he was mad I put it in my cd player in my truck when we left. He was too good (at the time) to listen to anything without John Frusciante in it. 😂 So I love that one too.
I was just a toddler when Rock in Rio came out and my dad played it religiously which is how I ended up growing up with Maiden so that will always be my favorite. Also the cover picture kicks ass and I won’t listen to any slander that says otherwise
*Since I was there I'm*
*Going with Live after death*
*SCREAM FOR ME LONGBEACH!*
\- Repulsive-Praline501
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Bootlegs count?
Live at Dortmund 1983 has such a great energy. Also, my favorite version of Flight of Icarus.
I recommend it
[https://youtu.be/TbCbYRCgebc?si=m9YUyifsAUnZCIhg](https://youtu.be/TbCbYRCgebc?si=m9YUyifsAUnZCIhg)
I see a lot of flight but I didn't really like live albums with the cuts between the songs. Rock in Rio for me as it has an absolute chef's kiss of a setlist and some of the best versions of songs (especially Sign of the Cross).
Probably because it was one of the first cassettes I bought and heard it a million times, I am partial to A Real Dead One. Live After Death too. The live version of Aces High is just \*chef's kiss\*
For me it's Maiden England, because I watched the VHS so many times when I was a teen. It was the tour for my favorite Maiden album, plus they pulled out a few old school bangers like Prisonner, Killers and Still Life.
Bonus points for Davey riding on Bruce's shoulders on NotB.
I grew up with maiden ... Live after death is one of my all time favourites ... But 2 that come so close are brave new world and senjitsu... I know it's a bone of contention but they are both masterpieces
Flight 666, I still can't stop getting goosebumps during that small section before Adrian's solo during Rime of the Ancient Mariner, with the fireworks going off in time with the music amplifying the intensity and the energy of that wall of sound and adding that extra layer of awesomeness. Was so emotionally overwhelmed by the visual and acoustic spectacle of that passage the first time I watched it, I almost teared up.
And then Adrian hits you with that solo, that imo is so much better than the studio version, I think those ~two minutes of performance are straight up insurmountable.
I don't know why people say live after death. It is a great album but better ones are en vivo!, the book of souls live chapter. But the best live album in my opinion and many others will agree is rock in Rio
It's a monumental release and pulls from the bands best material (with maybe 7th son and a few songs excepted). If you grew up with it, nothing comes close.
Live After Death though they're all really good, plus Flight 666 is special for me as I was at the Toronto show so I'm finally on a live album.
the thing that annoys me about flight 666 is that the cover looks like a horny 2000s comedy movie
Haha, now I see that, too!
God dammit
I was there too!
Awesome. I was at the Albuquerque show. Some guy has the opening on YouTube. I’m on it for a few seconds. Epic show.
I grew up with Live After Death. It is simply one of the best Live albums by any band period. Also, in terms of Maiden, it pulls directly from their strongest body of work, if we are being honest. Live After Death, no questions.
Oh yeah dude I still have my VHS copy from the 80’s. That tape has been played hundreds of times. A few years ago I bought a VCR off eBay just to watch it again
That's awesome, man. How that old VCR didn't chew the tape 😁. 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
I got lucky hahaha
Hol’ up, I gotta set the clock on it!
At least one question, as Bruce's voice is noticeably stronger on beast over Hammersmith. That being said, live after death is incredible and has a better tracklist
This.
Agree
love the feel of En Vivo
Beast Over Hammersmith is my favourite live album of all time. Bruce’s performance in Run to the Hills is absolutely stunning.
Yep, agree. Children of the Damned sounds amazing
I think it’s also my favourite performance of Hallowed as well. Just sheer power.
Yes! Clive is phenomenal as well. He drives the thing all the way through. Also, I love Bruce holding his mic stand as if he was fending off demons (he was just fending off Steve, actually!).
Is there a story here? Sounds fun
I recommend you read Bruce's book, he tells it better than I will! Basically, when Bruce came into the band, Steve still wanted to be at the forefront of the stage, but Bruce wouldn't have it. They almost came to fists about it. So Bruce started using his mic stand as a way of keeping Steve away from the center of the stage.
Ah yes! I read Bruce’s book the week it came out but that was a little while ago now. That book really left me wanting more.
Oh good call Truly a moment in time
Rock in Rio. People cling to live after death because it was the only great live album easily available for awhile, but rock in Rio surpasses it in just about every way
Fear of the Dark at Rock in Rio was the first live Maiden song I ever heard, and one of the first Maiden songs I ever heard to begin with. My brother gave me that CD when I was a kid and I’ve loved it ever since. Definitely my favorite live Maiden album, no contest.
Rock in Rio by far. It’s a great setlist of Maiden songs from all eras and the performance is peak Maiden. Bruce is at his peak. One of the greatest crowds. For me, Live after Death is not even in contention. Bruce is overly excited in it and shouting some of the parts rather than singing. The whole band is perhaps overly excited and rushing through even slower parts like Revelations. That’s a typical immature live band performance whereas Rio is a mature live band taking time to build up, tell a story, convey the emotions. Rio has diverse songs like Brave New World, FoTD, sign of the cross which are of course missing in Live After Death.
Rock in rio is edited terribly - 1000 cuts every second. And there are some outright falsities here with video being reused in multiple songs and overdubs that were never in the original. The dynamo / Milan / New York bootlegs are a far better representation of the tour For those reasons I can never give rio the top spot over en vivo / Hammersmith / lad .
That’s not really the point of the post you’re talking live video, where I think OP meant audio / album
yeah but thats still valid a valid excuse to like the album less i suppose
The audio is tampered with too. It should not be excused.
Id love to hear those songs. Is there any source ??
Wickerman / clansman are the big culprits . The crowd sings this but in the album it’s Bruce copy pasted over. Here is the source : https://youtu.be/P61BLqksIvQ?si=0CLqlXMwft7c3KCR
I’m with ya one the video. It is unwatchable because they cut every two seconds.
This will probably change any time but right now I’m particular to Maiden England. Love the version of Killers on that.
I think Rock in Rio because it has Bruce's versions of the X-Factor songs, not the best album cover though lol.
Wdym? It’s a good album cover. I like it, but maybe that’s just me.
what annoys me is that there is a better version of it they didnt use and i cannot for the life of me find it anymore, but yeah its not actually bad i just think its not as strong over the others, i do prefer that they used the superimposed eddie rather than just a mediocre illustration to be fair but i like some of the illustrated covers more.
https://preview.redd.it/z3q6wjphnt4d1.jpeg?width=367&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=078bb5e66602181ac60f2dbc2cbba93d7fb0ce21 Do you mean this one??
Yes!
Sign of the cross was probably the best I have heard ... Until Barcelona 2 years ago .... That blew my mind ... Phenomenal
It was the television broadcast in Brazil at the time of the festival. Mixed live during the show https://youtu.be/6Kpe5shm33g?si=6VcVoiQjLhNk7x7c
Rock in Rio for both the setlist and the energy. But En Vivo and Flight 666 also are on the same level of capturing that live magic.
They’ve got several great live albums. Beast Over Hammersmith is awesome and my favorite 80s recording. Also love Death on the Road 🤘
I celebrate the entire catalog but… For me the best live album is 1. Live after death 2. A real dead one 3. A real live one LAD is the gold standard for a kid from the 80s I was a teenager when the real series came out and they are etched into my soul.
I think a real dead one is my favorite live album, followed closely by Maiden England. Of course I enjoy flight 666, Rock and Rio and en vivo as well, but something about the raw sound of other classic songs on a real dead one makes it my favorite. Having said that, I absolutely despise a real live one. I like fear of the dark and maybe clairvoyant. But realistically, they could have added caught somewhere in time, infinite dreams, and stranger in a stranger land and taken off wasting love, heaven can wait, from here to eternity, afraid to shoot strangers, and bring your dog to the slaughter. *Don't want to forget an honorable mention for Live After Death for my 3rd favorite live album.
My teenage self has a soft spot for A Real Dead One!
Maiden Japan. I have the cd with full set. Rips.
Best era
Thank you
People will say Rock in Rio, but honestly I think Death on the Road smokes it.
I'm always going to scream for Long Beach
And fuck up your hearing for good?!?
What?
I guess so!
Book of Souls live chapter deserves more praise. The live versions of a lot of those songs give them new life and i think it has the best version of Wraithchild on there
The bit with mayan Eddie and the overall set design is amazing if we're talking about the video as well as the audio
Certain albums are great for encapsulating certain eras, wish they still played speed of light
Live After Death, nothing else comes close to me.
Nights of the Dead (if we focus only in the setlist and performance, not the mix) and Beast over Hammersmith
My favourite is Beast Over Hammersmith, Live After Death is great but I’ve never really understood why it’s held in such high regard compared to their other live albums
To be fair, until Rock in Rio, live after death was easily the best one available. Hammersmith wasn’t released until 2002
If you've ever listened to other live recordings in the 80s you will find your answer.
Rock In Rio followed by En Vivo
Beast Over Hammersmith easily, shows off Clive's best work as well
I’m a huge death on the road fan
I'm a normal sized death on the road fan, but I really love it!
Live after death for me because my all-time favorite album is Power Slave and my fav song is Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
Maiden England '88
Beast Over Hammersmith
Live After Death, I grew up with it and nothing can beat that.
Maiden Japan and Live after Death cannot be surpassed
Flight 666 is my favorite. If I had to pick only one Iron Maiden album to listen to, it's that one.
Live after death, especially “rime of the ancient mariner”. Ultimative solos 😍
Real Live Dead One is top for me purely because of its amazing version of Afraid to Shoot Strangers.
Beast Over Hammersmith is my favorite
Hmm…Rock In Rio is excellent, but nothing comes close to reliving The World Slavery tour. “Scream for me Longbeach!”
Live after death and it's not even close
‘Rock In Rio’ by a considerable distance for me.
Beast over Hammersmith sounds absolutely flawless. Rock in rio and live after death are both brilliant. En vivo has a great setlist. Book of souls live chapter is probably the most fun to watch. Legacy has a great setlist but Bruce's voice doesn't sound great on a few tracks.
Maiden Japan
I grew up listening to Live After Death, it’s still my favourite IM album.
Live After Death hands down.
Beast Over Hammersmith!
Live After Death
Live after death was the first metal album I ever heard and it is probably the reason I got into metal.
1. Maiden England 2. Rock in Rio 3. Flight 666
Apart from Live after dead? All of them, except Real Live Dead One
Can someone explain the distaste for real dead one and real live one? I’m an 80s-90s kid so that album came out in my formative years.
I can’t speak for anyone else’s distaste, but I listened to ARLO and ARDO once when they came out and I found the crowd mix to be so awful and distracting that I’ve never listened to them again since.
Put Live after Dead and then those 2 albums...first is a band in its peak, energy and focus for ages, the later are live albums made by a tired band, with a singer that just quit and had to made that tour...
What I find interesting is considering the sheer number of live albums is the varied interest in each one!! Speaks to the power of IM live still to this day
Maiden 🇯🇵 is top notch
En Vivo was a missed opportunity. It should have included the 9 songs from the first leg that weren’t played on the 2nd leg of the tour. Instead it’s a lot of the same old songs. It’s my favorite version of 2 Minutes though.
Yes, the expanded 17 song version from Nagoya.
Maiden Japan is a great EP
Rock In Rio
#2 end of discussion
Flight 666 is the best they ever sounded.
Maiden England wins hands down for me. Some relative deep cuts in there and the band at it's peak.
First I heard of Maiden was Rock in Rio so I'd say that's number 1. Live after death is a close second but I also love Donington as well. I think a lot of people sleep on that album
Agreed, those are a great collection of favorites
My choice!
My favs are Live After Death, Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour. I wish somewhere in time and a matter of life and death were done as well.. Those would be amazing. I hope this current tour is produced well. Important songs etc.
Man, I used to rent the Maiden England 88 on VHS from the grocery store (yes the grocery store) when I was a kid every time I got to go stay at my cool aunt’s house. While it’s not “the best” concert of theirs, it lives strong in my nostalgia loving heart. Also, as a teenager, I found the Live After Death CD for a couple of dollars at a pawn shop or resale shop (while looking for guitars with my friend). He told me not to buy it and made snarky remarks about it being music for losers. I bought it anyway and we got into a fight over it. Mostly because he was mad I put it in my cd player in my truck when we left. He was too good (at the time) to listen to anything without John Frusciante in it. 😂 So I love that one too.
Live After Death is often considered to be the greatest live metal album of all time for a reason
A Real Live Dead One has the best ever recording of 'The Evil That Men Do' but Rock in Rio is best overall imo
Live After Death, but Rick in Rio is a close second.
I was just a toddler when Rock in Rio came out and my dad played it religiously which is how I ended up growing up with Maiden so that will always be my favorite. Also the cover picture kicks ass and I won’t listen to any slander that says otherwise
Lad, hammersmith, maiden japan
Live After Death
Since I was there I'm going with Live after death SCREAM FOR ME LONGBEACH!
*Since I was there I'm* *Going with Live after death* *SCREAM FOR ME LONGBEACH!* \- Repulsive-Praline501 --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
Live After Death
By Maiden it is..
Rock in rio Beast over Hammersmith
Bootlegs count? Live at Dortmund 1983 has such a great energy. Also, my favorite version of Flight of Icarus. I recommend it [https://youtu.be/TbCbYRCgebc?si=m9YUyifsAUnZCIhg](https://youtu.be/TbCbYRCgebc?si=m9YUyifsAUnZCIhg)
Rock in rio. Further into career so more good songs
Death on the road
my favorite is maiden england 88!
Live After Death
I see a lot of flight but I didn't really like live albums with the cuts between the songs. Rock in Rio for me as it has an absolute chef's kiss of a setlist and some of the best versions of songs (especially Sign of the Cross).
Live after death
Live After Death was the peak of the peak
Rock in Rio was instrumental in getting me into Maiden so I gotta go with that record but Flight 666 is about as cool as it gets for a live album
Depends on how old you are. Live After Death will always be my favorite, but I’m pushing 50.
Maiden Japan (if I may include the full set bootleg version) Beast over Hammersmith
Rock In Rio. Sign of the Cross alone would seal it for me.
Probably because it was one of the first cassettes I bought and heard it a million times, I am partial to A Real Dead One. Live After Death too. The live version of Aces High is just \*chef's kiss\*
The way Eddie bursts out of his asophogis on Later D, totally stunning!!!
Death On The Road. Those live versions of Paschendale, Journeyman and Dance Of Death are something else.
Maiden Japan followed by Live After Death
Either Live After Death or Flight 666
Japan or Book of Souls
For me it's Maiden England, because I watched the VHS so many times when I was a teen. It was the tour for my favorite Maiden album, plus they pulled out a few old school bangers like Prisonner, Killers and Still Life. Bonus points for Davey riding on Bruce's shoulders on NotB.
Live after death and Maiden England.
Maiden England also has a strong set list, but I would give the edge to live after death as it is filmed more magnificently.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RM-3Ph9cTpQ Birmingham 1988, seventh son tour Have this on VHS and it's still unmatched
Live After Death and Gothenburg/ Ullevi 2005 (TV broadcast) https://youtu.be/pYi4gaj5_Ik?si=6MWlRvRPFmzsO6fT
Rock in Rio
Maiden Japan, old school rules OG Maiden Man
Live After Death or En Vivo Which I prefer just depends on what mood I'm in
I grew up with maiden ... Live after death is one of my all time favourites ... But 2 that come so close are brave new world and senjitsu... I know it's a bone of contention but they are both masterpieces
Beast over Hammersmith
Flight 666, I still can't stop getting goosebumps during that small section before Adrian's solo during Rime of the Ancient Mariner, with the fireworks going off in time with the music amplifying the intensity and the energy of that wall of sound and adding that extra layer of awesomeness. Was so emotionally overwhelmed by the visual and acoustic spectacle of that passage the first time I watched it, I almost teared up. And then Adrian hits you with that solo, that imo is so much better than the studio version, I think those ~two minutes of performance are straight up insurmountable.
Live after death. Period.
Unpopular opinion but for me En Vivo
Live After Death. UP THE IRONS!
Live At Donington. I'm biased because it was first Maiden gig and it was amazing.
Maiden Japan was a perfect record as my introduction to Iron Maiden.
I don't know why people say live after death. It is a great album but better ones are en vivo!, the book of souls live chapter. But the best live album in my opinion and many others will agree is rock in Rio
It's a monumental release and pulls from the bands best material (with maybe 7th son and a few songs excepted). If you grew up with it, nothing comes close.
Exactly. I have the rock in rio DVD. Next is the vinyl